Friday, June 1, 2012

Paranormal Romance Author at SciFi Convention

Photo: me and romance author Claire Ashgrove: we were given Men In Black 3 tees and dark glasses!

Last weekend, I attended ConQuestKC, a SciFi convention in Kansas City. Paranormal romance authors were invited to participate on panels and do a book signing. I was intrigued by this offer, and, since I have two paranormal romance books, I decided to go.

It was different than romance conventions...but I enjoyed it!

I was on three panels about paranormal romance:
1. More of a Man (As women become stronger and more independent in real life, how does that affect our heroes in paranormal romances?)
2. Future of Paranormal Romance (Evolution of paranormal romance and how it made its way to the mainstream)
3. Rapunzel Syndrome (Can you have a strong female character and still be rescued by a man? Rapunzel needed a prince, but the prince needed Rapunzel. Can you have romance with both hero and heroine on equal footing or does there always have to be a damsel in distress?)

My psychic romance book, "Second Sight Dating", has a strong hero and heroine...and the heroine's psychic "gift" comes into question from an unbeliever hero.

Actually, there were more panels, but these were the ones I was on. Some seem to "mesh" with the others. One panel had few sitting in the audience, and two had 12-15. So, there was interest and not only from other romance authors there to support the panelists.

Interesting topic in the History of romance...we couldn't come up with a definite "beginning" book with paranormal romance elements. Some mentioned Frankenstein, Dracula, or, even works done much earlier. We talked about "recent" paranormal romance books...those starting as early as the 1960s to present time. All agreed that earlier paranormal romances found difficulty in getting published...and some went to small publishers.

The "boom" in paranormal romance books we see now is motivated by active readers seeking these books.

As far a hero and heroine on equal footing in a paranormal romance, each somehow needs the other to fill a void/compensate for a flaw in the other. Both can be strong and "needy" at the same time. (My book, "Street of Dreams" - time travel romantic suspense - has two detectives involved in a battle of wits for control of their mission to go back in time and capture a killer. Both have flaws, but both need each other's strength.

The conference offered traditional SciFi topics...and I sat in on some. I like science fiction...always loved Star Trek and Star Wars...and am a frequent watcher of the SyFy channel. I skipped the Klingon food fest, and the Zombie Olympics (they wanted me to participate...but darn...I'd forgotten my running shoes! HA!).

I missed the costume event - it was later at night and I was tired so went home. But, I saw lots of costumed people walking around the hotel.

 The book signing was a small, one hour event, and didn't seem to attract many buyers...except for the "guests of honor". I did, however, sell two books...neither one was one of my paranormal books! I'd taken some mainstream romances and my nonfiction book, too.

Nice experience, fun people. I met some authors, both romance and strictly SciFi, and enjoyed talking with them.

Try a SciFi convention sometime...especially as more invite paranormal romance authors to join them!
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12 comments:

  1. ParisJune 1, 2012 at 7:44 AM

    The panels sound interesting and I wish I could have been there. Thanks for sharing your experience! Is this a yearly local conference?

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  2. Adele DuboisJune 1, 2012 at 9:38 AM

    I like smaller conferences that are easy to navigate and provide more opportunities to connect with readers. Glad you had a good experience at SciFi Con. Nice pic!

    Best--Adele

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  3. Tina DonahueJune 1, 2012 at 9:54 AM

    You look as though you had a great time, Marianne - wish I could have been there. Love the covers of your books. :)

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  4. Molly DanielsJune 1, 2012 at 9:59 AM

    You skipped the Klingong Food Fest? How COULD you? LOL:)

    Glad you had a good time!

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  5. SandyJune 1, 2012 at 12:10 PM

    I think there are always going to be readers looking for something new. So glad you had fun, Marianne.

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  6. jean hart stewartJune 1, 2012 at 12:33 PM

    Sounds like fun... wish I could have been there....

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  7. Janice SeagravesJune 1, 2012 at 3:51 PM

    It sounded like a fun event. And darn, you missed out on the Zombie Olympics.

    Janice~

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  8. Marie Rose DufourJune 1, 2012 at 4:24 PM

    Thanks for sharing your experience. I've always wanted to go to a sci-fi conference.

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  9. Cara MarsiJune 1, 2012 at 4:34 PM

    Thanks for posting this, Marianne. It sounds like fun. The panels sound very interesting. Glad you had fun.

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  10. Marianne StephensJune 1, 2012 at 4:36 PM

    It sounded like the convention wasn't held every year...like every other year instead.

    And I actually walked into the Klingon Food Fest, but they weren't ready...couldn't see what they were fixing. I decided to go to another workshop on Star Trek!

    Thanks, all, for your comments!

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  11. G. A. Edwards-Writer and SpeakerJune 1, 2012 at 9:20 PM

    Good to see you there! I have been to this type of thing before with my husband the SciFi fan. Nice of you to represent the Paranormal Romance genre!

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  12. LKFJune 1, 2012 at 10:31 PM

    Sounds like you had fun even if you Missed the Zombies. That's one thing I would have missed on purpose. Zombies creep me out. :\
    Lynda

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